Sandvik (www.home.sandvik) is to invest some 200 million SEK (about £17.9 million) in a new plant for manufacturing titanium and nickel fine metal powders at Sandvik Materials Technology.

Expected to become operational in 2020, this will complement the company’s existing powder offering and strengthen Sandvik’s position in the rapidly growing markets for metal powder and metal additive manufacturing (AM).

The company is already involved in the production and sale of fine metal powders; stainless steel, nickel-based alloys and cobalt-chromium alloys are manufactured in the UK and Sweden, with sales in Europe, North America and Asia via the Osprey brand.

The demand for metal powder for AM is expected to increase significantly in the coming years. Titanium and nickel-based alloys are key growth areas in the field of AM, accounting for a significant portion of the metal powder market.

Annika Roos, head of powder products at Sandvik Materials Technology, said: “This investment is an enabler for future growth; it means that we are expanding our metal-powder offering to include virtually all alloy groups of relevance today.

“It will also support the overall additive-manufacturing business at Sandvik.”

Göran Björkman, president of Sandvik Materials Technology, said: “The metal powder segment and the additive-manufacturing business are increasingly important to us.

“This investment should be viewed as the latest evidence of our commitment to an area that we believe strongly in.”